Russian nuclear scientists arrested for Bitcoin mining plot

Russia’s FSB has arrested several scientists working at a top-secret Russian nuclear warhead facility who allegedly tried to use one of Moscow’s most powerful supercomputers to mine Bitcoins, the BBC cites Russian media in reporting. The attempted Bitcoin mining took place at the Federal Nuclear Center in Sarov, which is suspected as a possible source for the radioactive polonium-210 used to kill ex-FSB agent Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006. The supercomputer in Sarov was not supposed to be connected to the internet, so as to prevent intrusion. When the scientists attempted to connect the computer to the internet, the nuclear center’s security department was alerted.